Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 356 [Infinite Tsukuyomi]

When the rock ball grew so large that everyone's eyelids twitched, its suction force reached its limit.

Even though it was more than 1000 meters above the ground, the damage to the earth became even more severe.

The shattered earth became larger and larger, and the surrounding mountains disintegrated directly, breaking into countless fragments of rock and soil that quickly drifted into the sky and gathered on the outer layer of the rock sphere, adding to its structure.

What was once a flat battlefield is now riddled with large and small depressions and cracks, and the surrounding mountains have lost countless soil and rocks.

The ninjas on the battlefield were all terrified, because they too were being dragged along by the suction force.

At first, the ninjas were not panicked. They were able to find a fixed object in various ways to keep themselves on the ground.

However, when the suction force of the [Planetary Devastation] became strong enough to tear the earth apart, the ninjas' anchors were destroyed along with them, turning them into ninjas with broken strings, naturally unable to control their own destiny.

Fortunately, Xia Zuo magnetized each ninja with [Electromagnetic Control], making them attract each other to the earth's magnetic field, even strong enough to counteract the suction force of [Planetary Devastation].

The three people he bestowed with magnetic power were Uchiha Tajima, Uchiha Izuna, and Uchiha Chiri, who were originally Edo Tensei users who should have been part of Madara Uchiha's camp.

These three, along with Uchiha Izumi and Uchiha Shisui, chatted and laughed as they arrived at the battlefield, only to be nearly sucked up and sealed by the [Planetary Devastation].

Uchiha Tajima couldn't help but mutter, "Madara is indeed quite capable, but why is he still so disorganized and careless in his actions?"

Uchiha Izuna couldn't help but retort, "Father, my brother doesn't know we've returned here; he thinks we went to Konoha."

Uchiha Tajima knew he had said the wrong thing, but the old man just kept grumbling and wouldn't admit it.

At this point, Uchiha Izumi had no time to care about this old man. She used her Magnet Release and Xia Zuo's Electromagnetic Control to...

They were connected, directly opening up a dialogue of minds.

[Brother, how is it?]

Everything is under control; Madara Uchiha is about to unleash his final attack.

【Quan, beware of illusions, don't be deceived.】

Yes, I'm ready too.

Uchiha Izumi turned to everyone and shouted, "[Planetary Devastation] is almost over! Prepare to defend against the explosive impact!"

At this moment, the rock spheres gathered by the Earth-Exploding Star had risen to an altitude of about 2000 meters, and had accumulated countless rock fragments, forming a giant meteorite.

As the [Planetary Devastation] exhausted its chakra, the technique's suction force also completely ended. As a result, the meteorite lost its special property of resisting gravity and began to fall towards the ground.

Xia Zuo also promptly released the electromagnetic force from the ninjas, allowing them to quickly find cover to avoid the impact of his destruction of the natural [Heavenly Obstruction Star].

There was no way around it; the distance was simply too close this time, and even he couldn't take care of everyone.

Xia Zuo's chakra boiled and rapidly transformed into gas.

At the same time, he clasped his hands together, letting them hang down at his right waist, and then pushed them upwards, using his right arm as the main support and his left arm as the auxiliary, to unleash the [Kamehameha Shockwave].

The energy blast from the shockwave instantly struck the stone sphere created by [Earth Explosion Star], destroying its physical structure with absolute force and also destroying the core sealing technique.

The entire stone sphere instantly lost its cohesion, and the rocks that were already being violently impacted by the Kamehameha wave exploded even more violently.

boom-!

Like a taut cable suddenly snapping, the giant stone sphere exploded.

The force of the explosion was so violent that the rocks gathered by the stone spheres were instantly crushed into powder.

The powder was then ignited by the high temperature, burning into an unimaginably huge fireball at an altitude of about 1000 meters.

The impact of the Kamehameha, the disintegration of the Chibaku Tensei, and the high-temperature expansion of the burning stone powder created an unprecedented impact on the ground.

The uneven ground was instantly flattened and sunken down by more than 30 meters.

Fortunately, all the ninjas on the battlefield were Kage-level ninjas, powerful and experienced, who had already escaped the battlefield a step ahead; otherwise, they would have been crushed to pieces, their flesh and blood merging into the earth.

The only one who wasn't a Kage-level ninja, Uchiha Tajima, was sandwiched between Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Izuna, who used two Susanoo to shield him from the shockwave of the explosion.

Another severely injured man, Might Guy, who was unable to care for himself, was taken away by the Second and Fourth Hokage. He was faster and ran farther than anyone else.

Only Uchiha Izumi remained.

Because she believed that Xia Zuo's side was the safest place in the ninja world, she was able to calmly face the explosion of the stone ball and even appreciate the cool scene of this terrifying explosion.

The feeling of being amidst the terror of a village being wiped out, yet simultaneously experiencing the beauty of being there and feeling completely safe, filled Uchiha Izumi's heart with happiness.

"So beautiful."

Hearing his wife's words, Xia Zuo turned to look at her and asked, "Are you ready?"

Uchiha Izumi snorted coldly: "Hmph, of course. But Tsunade and Tenten don't know."

Xia Zuo: "They are ready."

Uchiha Izumi's good mood and happiness vanished instantly. She inhaled, stepped back, charged forward, and slammed her head into Xia Zuo's waist: "You damned pervert!"

The young couple were playfully bickering below, while the ninjas scattered and fled using various means. Finally, Madara Uchiha in the sky made his final decision.

Madara Uchiha concentrated the power of his Rinnegan on his forehead. In the midst of intense pain, a circular hole was dissolved in his brow bone by chakra, and a blood-red Rinne Sharingan emerged from under his skin.

Unlike Xia Zuo, who gradually accumulated strength from the bottom up, paying close attention to the mutation and movement of glands throughout the process, and eventually became the Rinne Sharingan with nine tomoe, Uchiha Madara forcibly activated the Rinne Sharingan by converting the Ten-Tails' chakra into ocular power while completely ignorant.

This thing has a major inherent flaw, or rather, it is not Madara Uchiha's organ in essence, but rather an organ that Kaguya Otsutsuki copied onto Madara Uchiha's body through the Ten-Tails.

As the name suggests, the Rinne Sharingan is essentially a Sharingan with the characteristics of the Rinnegan, at most a bankrupt version of the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan.

Even so, the excessively rapid mutation severely damaged Madara Uchiha's body, destroying all his potential and leaving him with no chance to improve again in this lifetime.

It could even be said that this is Madara Uchiha's peak, and he will gradually weaken in the future, with no possibility of recovery.

Of course, he didn't get the chance.

Madara Uchiha was unaware of all this; he only knew that everything was true, and that he was following the path left by the Sage of Six Paths, step by step, until he reached the gate of ultimate success.

Ignoring his splitting headache and the faint weakness emanating from his body, he poured all the chakra he could control, the power of his Rinnegan, and the Ten-Tails' chakra into the Rinne Sharingan between his eyebrows.

【Heretical Path - Infinite Tsukuyomi】

Madara Uchiha projected the power of his Rinne Sharingan onto the surface of the moon. This unprecedented, massive ninjutsu cleared away the diffraction of the atmosphere, turning the blue sky of daytime into a clear night sky.

The sun, stars, and moon appeared in the sky at the same time, each shining brightly.

This miraculous scene stunned all living beings in the ninja world; everyone looked up at the sky in a daze.

Some people had their eyes burned by the direct sunlight, but the vast majority of people saw the moon immediately and couldn't take their eyes off it.

The entire moon has turned into an enormous red eye, looking so vivid and eerie!

Those who are emotionally sensitive can even see sadness, desolation, and other poignant feelings in the eyes of the red moon!

Only the Kage-level ninjas near the battlefield, and specifically the Uchiha clan members with the Mangekyou Sharingan, knew that the Crimson Moon Eye was exactly the same as the Rinne Sharingan on Madara's forehead!

Uchiha Tajima was furious: "Damn it, is Madara's brain filled with nothing but chakra?"

"I was completely infatuated with Hashirama Senju since I was a child, and now I'm being fooled by some monster who appeared out of nowhere!"

"How can anyone lie to him?"

Uchiha Izuna looked at his father awkwardly, wanting to say something in defense of his brother, but he didn't know what to say.

Uchiha Shisui murmured, "In the end, he still couldn't stop Uchiha Madara—"

Uchiha Kagami, who was waiting for them outside the battlefield, comforted his grandson, saying, "Shisui, don't blame yourself too much. Uchiha Madara's strength was too great; you simply couldn't stop him."

"We should now trust the Fifth Hokage."

Shisui nodded: "Yes, Grandpa is right. We can trust the Fifth Hokage."

"He saved the Uchiha clan nine years ago, and Konoha five years ago. He will surely be able to save the ninja world this time as well."

Tobirama Senju sighed, "In the end, we were still unable to stop it, brother. We have failed."

Hashirama Senju, however, didn't take it to heart: "Tobirama, as Xia Zuo once said, each generation has its own mission and its own responsibilities."

"Our defeat does not mean the defeat of Konoha Village. We still have the Fifth Hokage, Xia Zuo."

Minato Namikaze laughed and said, "I think the Fifth Hokage is very confident. He hasn't used his full strength yet, so he must have his own special plan."

Tobirama Senju sneered, "That kid is definitely plotting something. My only worry is that this time, Konoha won't be used as a price to pay."

Might Guy patted the small slug on his body and said, "I believe in the Fifth Hokage. He certainly won't let Konoha become the price."

Busy distributing small slugs to heal the ninjas and replenish their chakra, Tsunade said, "Don't worry, I gambled before I came here and lost 10 billion ryo in one go. There will definitely be no problem with this war."

Hashirama Senju stared in disbelief: "10 billion ryo? Where did you get that money?"

Tobirama Senju's eyebrows furrowed so tightly they could trap a fly: "Tsunade, you didn't steal village funds, did you?"

Tsunade's veins bulged with anger: "Nonsense! Do you think I'm that kind of person who doesn't know what's good for me?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, even the Fifth Mizukage and the Fifth Kazekage.

Who in the ninja world doesn't know about Tsunade's reputation for making huge bets?

It's only natural to say she would embezzle public funds for gambling. When a gambling addict loses everything, what won't he do?

If she could defeat Xia Zuo, she might even be able to gamble away the Fifth Hokage.

After finally realizing the true extent of her reputation, Tsunade became completely dejected. She explained weakly, "I really didn't steal it; Natsume gave it to me."

He said: "Tsunade, your luck in gambling is the balancer of Konoha's national destiny, yet you've lost this 10 billion. We will definitely win this war —"

Jiraiya suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! That makes perfect sense."

Hashirama Senju breathed a sigh of relief: "How could I have forgotten that? The Fifth Hokage was very thoughtful."

Cheerful laughter rang out from the crowd, filling the air with a relaxed and joyful atmosphere.

"Bang"

Tsunade punched both her grandfather and Jiraiya, knocking them both to the ground.

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Xia Zuo held Uchiha Izumi in his arms, looked at the blood-red full moon on the horizon, and murmured, "Finally, I can see this Eye of the Moon. It wasn't easy at all."

Uchiha Izumi hugged her husband tightly, inhaling his scent, and whispered, "I hope we can both avoid the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Advent of the Divine Tree, so that I can fight alongside you."

"If I'm unfortunately caught up in the illusion space, you must protect yourself."

"With you here, we all still have hope. If you fail too, the entire ninja world is doomed."

Xia Zuo replied confidently, "Don't worry, I won't fail."

Uchiha Izumi held him in her arms and remained silent for a very long time.

Suddenly, she said, "If it's absolutely necessary, I... I can accept Kaguya as my older sister—"

Xia Zuo:

The Fifth Hokage dared not speak again. This was a question of death, and no matter how he answered, it would still mean death.

After waiting a few more breaths, Xia Zuo suddenly said, "It's here."

Uchiha Izumi released Natsume, stood up straight, and looked up at the sky.

Even from a great distance, she could vaguely sense the immense, uncountable power of her eyes surging down from the direction of the Eye of the Moon, like a tidal wave in a starry sea.

That power was incomparably strong, far stronger than when Madara Uchiha activated his technique, and even hundreds of times stronger wouldn't be enough to describe it.

Uchiha Izumi, through her Mangekyou Sharingan, vaguely sensed that there seemed to be an immense will on the moon, which was slowly awakening.

At this moment, the ninjas of the five great nations gathered in Konoha Village, the ninjas scattered in the smaller countries, ordinary people throughout the ninja world, the toads and tadpoles of Mount Myōboku, and countless slugs of Shikkotsu Forest, all looked up at the Eye of the Moon in the sky.

Even the snake sage and the giant snake in Ryuchi Cave looked up in the direction of the Moon Eye, as if the heavy rocks could not block the light of the Moon Eye.